Today, on International Women’s Day, the European Union’s Governance of Justice Initiative (GOJUST) officially awarded Philippine pesos 12.1 million (EUR 215,000) to six universities that will place justice for women and girls at the center of their clinical legal education programs. The six universities are: Western Visayas State University; Adamson University; San Carlos University; University of Visayas; Fr Saturnino Urios University; Saint Louis University.
Filipino women want and deserve justice. But according to the 2019 World Justice Report, of the 35 percent of Filipinos who had a legal problem in the past two years, only 20 percent were able to get help. Women and children find it harder to get justice.
Governance of Justice, or GOJUST, is an EU program that supports the Philippine government in improving access to justice for all. The GOJUST program includes a four-year €3.1 million (PHP 170 million) grant facility to support civil society organizations and universities/law schools to improve access to justice for disadvantaged groups, especially women and girls.
The grant signing ceremony took place virtually today, with a keynote speech by HE Luc Véron, EU Ambassador to the Philippines.
Atty also gave a message. Anna Marie Melanie Trinidad, Chair, Legal Education Committee; Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando, Chair, Legal Education Committee; President Gemy Lito Festin, President, Association of Philippine Law Schools; and Ms. Jelen Paclarin, Executive Director, Bureau of Women’s Law and Human Rights.
“Gender equality is one of the core values of the European Union. Ensuring equal access to justice for women and girls is critical to building a fair, inclusive, prosperous and peaceful society. Since 2006, the European Union has been a firm partner in justice sector reform in the Philippines Partners. Our engagement stems from our emphasis on democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” said EU Ambassador Luc Véron.
“We look forward to the transformative work of these universities in the year ahead. Women and girls are key agents of development and change. Their intervention will make life better,” he added.
The six universities will implement the Supreme Court’s Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP) as a way to facilitate access to justice for women and other vulnerable groups. CLEP is a credit-bearing taught course designed to provide law students with the knowledge to apply the law, provide legal services, and advance social justice, especially in marginalized communities.
Grantees’ program activities aim to empower women while improving their access to justice. Western Visayas State University will establish a legal help desk for women, children and marginalized groups in need of legal support and assistance. The university will utilize its Office of Gender and Development (GAD) and work with the Western Visayas Medical Center Hospital’s Women and Child Protection Unit (WCPU) to develop the Helpdesk.
Similarly, the University of the Visayas, another grantee, will set up a legal desk in the women’s dormitory of the Cebu City Prison to provide free legal aid services to women deprived of their liberty.
Adamson University will create a team of volunteer paralegals and focus on legal empowerment and education in disadvantaged communities through workshops on the justice system, human rights, and women/children’s rights. Father Saturnino Urios University (FSUU) will work with indigenous communities to raise awareness of rights, including women’s rights.
The European Union’s GOJUST program totals €19 million (PHP 1.1 billion) over four years: 1) Supports the Supreme Court of the Philippines, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior and Local Governments to improve access to justice for all Filipinos, thereby promoting inclusion and sustainable socio-economic development; 2) Aims to strengthen the Human Rights Commission to fulfill its constitutional mandate to protect civil and political rights and to strengthen the promotion of human rights in the Philippines in accordance with the United Nations Paris Principles.
GOJUST is implemented through technical assistance from the British Council and logistical and grant management support from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
